Driving under the influence (“DUI”) continues to be a major problem causing thousands of people to be killed and injured each year. Police agencies have increased enforcement efforts in an attempt to apprehend drivers who are operating vehicles while impaired. This increased enforcement also serves as a deterrent to others who forego operating a vehicle while impaired for fear of being arrested for DUI. Educational programs and advocacy groups also discourage people from driving under the influence.
A person who is arrested for DUI faces significant penalties ranging from loss of driving privileges and fines, to incarceration. Additionally, a person charged with DUI will often incur significant legal expenses, and the stigma associated with a DUI conviction. If someone is seriously injured or killed by a person driving under the influence, the driver almost certainly will face a lengthy prison term. Unfortunately, a person who has consumed too much alcohol, or is impaired by some other substance such as illegal drugs or prescription medication, often do not realize the extent of their impairment.
Many prior attempts at preventing the operation of vehicle by an impaired driver have focused almost exclusively on a person impaired by alcohol. These previous attempts often involve a breathalyzer that is connected to a vehicle's ignition that prevents the starting of the vehicle if the person's blood alcohol level is a predetermined threshold. Such a system often involves a very expensive modification to a vehicle to install such a system. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 7,236,094 discloses a method for collecting and analyzing data from the proximity of a potential driver to determine whether the potential driver is under the influence of intoxicating substances and disabling an automotive ignition system if the driver is determined to be under the influence of intoxicating substances. U.S. Patent Application No. 2006/0253711 describes a biometric safety and security system that is designed to prevent a person that is inebriated from starting the vehicle. The system includes an electronics circuit, a fingerprint scanner, a speech verifier, a breath analyzer and the ignition key. U.S. Pat. No. 6,819,248, EP 1703045 and WO 96/32556 teach a substance detector configured to detect a substance ingested by a user and a blocking device to disable the operability of the vehicle when a substance is detected. This type of device can be defeated by the user simply drawing alcohol-free air through the device, the device does not evaluate the memory or neuro-motor capabilities of the user and for the device to be effective, the device should be calibrated which increases the cost to the user.
Another type system for inhibiting a driver from staring the ignition of a vehicle is described in WO 96/32556, EP 1703045A1 and U.S. Pat. No. 6,819,248 prevents the key from being inserted into the ignition. The key includes a stop device which prevents the key shank from fully entering the lock receptacle. Both devices include a breathalyzer type of device for determining if the person's blood alcohol level is a predetermined threshold and preventing the key shank from being inserted into the ignition when the detected level is above the predetermined threshold. As with the previously described breathalyzer type devices, the system is easily defeated.
Additionally, by only measuring a driver's blood alcohol level, there is no way to tell if the driver is impaired by an illegal drug or a medication. Further, such a system does not truly indicate if a person is impaired, but rather base the test result solely on preset thresholds. Thus, a person might be impaired, but have a blood alcohol level below a preset threshold and be allowed to operate the vehicle, even though the person is impaired.
Other attempts at preventing the operation of vehicle by an impaired driver have focused on a person memory and/or manual dexterity to determine a level of impairment. U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,093,870, 3,867,823, 3,786,656 and 3,139561 discloses apparatus that include a container housing a key and a combination lock for opening the container to access the key necessary for operating the vehicle. These systems test the driver's ability to recall the combination. U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,978,303, 3,942,151 and 3,610,943 teach different systems and methods for testing the drivers memory by his/her ability to repeat an alphanumeric sequence; and U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,058,911, 3,918,176 and 3,794,968 test the driver's visual ability to determine spatial relationship of objects. A problem with most of these prior art devices is that they must be installed into the vehicle's ignition system at a significant cost to the owner.
Therefore, a need exists for a system for deterring operating a vehicle while impaired that does not require an expensive modification of a vehicle, is capable if determining impairment of a vehicle operator regardless of the cause of the impairment, and is capable of determining if an individual is impaired, irrespective of an amount of impairing substance the vehicle operator has consumed.